Noy stands firm on hostage crisis stance as Erap prepares to make formal apology

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino said yesterday he is standing pat on his decision not to apologize on behalf of the Philippine government and the Filipino people for the Manila hostage crisis that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

He issued the statement as Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said he is preparing to leave for China to personally apologize to the officials of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The city council recently passed a resolution apologizing to the Hong Kong people for the hostage-taking incident.

Aquino said he had spoken with Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, Indonesia early this month and both had explained their own perspectives on the issue.

“Our position is the act of one individual who was probably mentally unstable at that point in time, should not be construed as the act of the entire country and therefore, we have, again, we reiterated our utmost regret as to what has happened,” the President said.

“We offered again our condolences to all who have suffered and died. But there are limitations both from even a legalistic point of view as to how far we can go. And I think, I can’t say that we had the meeting of the minds, but I think, both of us understood each other’s positions better after the discussion,” he added.

The President said the government had handled the matter seriously and there were cases filed before the courts in connection with the incident. He said officials have to consider the “legal backlash” for issuing an apology.

“If we accept that it was, in effect, an act of the state then the idea also of compensation – or reparations perhaps is the better legal term – comes into the picture,” Aquino said.

As for compensation, Aquino said members of the local business community, in solidarity with the rest of the nation and in sympathy with the residents of Hong Kong, had offered a solidarity fund for the families of the slain tourists.

Predecessor to blame

In a telephone interview with The STAR, Estrada said Manila and the entire country suffered enough in terms of economic losses due to then Manila mayor Alfredo Lim’s failure to respond to the hostage crisis.

Dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, armed with an assault rifle, seized a tourist bus with 22 Hong Kong tourists as passengers in an attempt to get his job back. He killed eight tourists before a police sniper shot him in the head. 

“He (Lim) was the mayor and he is the one who assumes command responsibility,” Estrada said when asked if Lim erred in his approach in the hostage crisis.

The Manila city council has approved a resolution designating Estrada to personally hand over and represent the city government in making the apology to the Hong Kong government.

“I apologize for the unfortunate incident. Manila is now a very safe city for Hong Kong nationals. My concern here is the fact that the Hong Kong government is banning overseas Filipino workers from working in Hong Kong due to that unfortunate incident. We are at the losing end if this will continue,” Estrada said, noting that more than 100,000 OFWs work in the former British colony.

He also said Hong Kong and Chinese tourists “choose to travel to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia instead of going to our country.”

Estrada said Manila is host to many jobless Filipinos, and the ban on OFWs in Hong Kong will result in more Filipinos without jobs.